attacks of the police and courts.
These attacks take manv and varied forms, bulk of the conference - and ILS LEOST SUSe EI - W29 devoted to different important area discussion concerned custody of children, ala in area the fact that judges scarcely ever grant custody to lesbian mothers. Even visiting right. are likely to be conditional on the child not seeing its mother with the woman she lives with the child might grow up with the idea that women can live independentlv of men! Juries These cases are very hard to fight in an open way and judges there are no — orten take an even dimmer view if the woman happens to be a militant feminist.
•Protection of youth' also figures neaviv in the beca repression of gay men. The age of consent in England and Wares a Is moner man tot heterosexual (16). (Sex between men is illegal at any Ireland.) And the penalties tor breaking the age of consent laws are tar nigner in gay than in heterosexual cases.
All this suggests to young people that homosexuality at best 'inferior and at worst gnawing disease to which yvu llay tinally succumb the age of 21.
The law is also at pains to keep male homosexuality invisible. It is lllegal tor to attempt to pick _ UD another In ouble us meda for two men to have sex in public 'public' including is, or could be, present. OVER the weekend of 12/13 April, 60 lesbians and gay men met at the 'London Gays and the Law' conference to discuss how to organise against the steadily increasing there are now frequent full-scale witch-hunts against gays in towns round the country.
Sus Campaigning in oncon around the legal oppression of gays is made more difficult oy me lack or common Dou tical perspectives between the various organisations volved. There is a strong net work of advice services help people who are in trouble wien une law our was network does not key into the campaigning activities.
are camean tor nomo sexual Equality has sulalesy ul the law after the loboying ap proach in the fight to change the age of consent. The left of une movement nas tenceo.to write off work around the law as irrelevant, and has generally been unable to organise et. fectively to fight the police.
to organise and educate standing of the legal oppression of gays becomes part and Dal Cel cour move ment's consciousness in much came way as Sus and police violence against pickels already are.
Clarity Because of the relativelv weak representation of the organisations involved in this area in London, tne conference was not able to develop discussions around individual areas of the into overall political clarity and ovcialon. nowever. lie cor. ference set up a secretariat to take this task forward in the future l mus can be contacted NiS Caledonian Rd, London TOWER anniversary ing of the inquest.
Speakers and the disbanding of the SPG.
HOMES TRADES OUNC WANT BLAI PEACE RIALS 8,000 people marched on 27 April in memory of Blair Peach. The march coincided with the first of his death at the hands Special Patrol Group in Southall, and the openat the demonstration demanded that action be taken against the six SPG men named by the Sunday Times as his murderers, WANTED MURDER PEACH 8,000 march in memory of Blair Peach WANTED MURDER BLAIR OF Photo: GM COOKSON (Socialist Challenge) PEACH